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“There’s really nothing about this particular domestic violence case that is really any different than any other domestic violence case,� Gorman says.

The record backs her up.

In early January, Payne, 36, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. The allegations were awful, that he pushed and struck the mother of his child and then threw hot soup on her, causing burns. Police responding to the scene arrested him and took him to the station to be booked while they sought charges from the office of Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner.

An on-duty judge issued a warrant for Payne’s arrest in the case, in which he wrote — as is standard in nearly all domestic violence cases in the city — that Payne should be held without bond until he has an opportunity to appear before a judge.

At the jail, while awaiting charges to be filed, Payne tested positive for COVID-19. According to Gorman, he was quite sick, displaying symptoms. Police and jail policy, as my colleagues Joel Currier and Mark Schlinkmann have reported, is to transport such patients to a hospital before making a decision on whether the defendant should be held in jail. That didn’t happen in Payne’s case. He was released before charges were filed. He was then charged with two of the lowest-level felonies: a D felony for second-degree domestic violence and an E felony for third-degree domestic violence.

Here’s where all hell broke loose. The lobbyist went on a Twitter tirade, alleging that somehow the administration of Mayor Tishaura O. Jones was releasing domestic violence suspects against the wishes of judges.

But that’s not really what happened, Gorman points out. Her client was released before charges were filed by the circuit attorney’s office, something that happens in many cases. The judge’s no-bond warrant wouldn’t apply until then. At that point — particularly since the Missouri Supreme Court reformed the use of cash bail in the city courts — there is a requirement that such a defendant have an on-the-record bond hearing in front of a different judge, within 48 hours. In the case of Payne, based on the court schedule the day he was originally arrested, that bond hearing would have been the next day; the judge likely would have let him out on a personal recognizance bond.

In fact, that’s what happened in three other cases of alleged domestic violence the very week Payne was arrested, according to court records. The purpose of cash bail is not to punish people accused of crimes before they have been convicted. It’s to ensure that defendants show up for their court dates or, in extreme cases, protect society from people accused of violent crimes. Otherwise, the concept of innocent until proven guilty loses all meaning.

In domestic violence cases, judges in St. Louis regularly release defendants on personal recognizance bonds, meaning they don’t have to pay cash to be released, with the requirement that they stay away from their alleged victims and, often, that they also wear a GPS device. This is in accordance with Missouri Supreme Court rules.

In fact, police officers know this all too well. Remember the case of Nathaniel Hendren, the city police officer who killed a fellow officer, Katlyn Alix, while playing a Russian roulette-style game? He posted bond and was placed on house arrest after a much more violent crime than the one Payne is accused of committing. Hendren was eventually convicted. Payne may well be, once he has his day in court.

“It would be very unusual for D and E felonies to lead to no bond,� Gorman says, especially in a case like her client’s. Payne has no criminal record. He has a job and had a place to stay away from the victim. He is an example of why an Arnold Foundation study found in 2013 that low-risk defendants who are held on bail are actually more likely to reoffend than those who are let out of jail pending trial, because they are separated from jobs and the things that keep them grounded to the community.

Matthew Mahaffey agrees. The city’s head public defender, Mahaffey has nothing to do with Payne’s case but has been watching the controversy. He has represented many defendants in similar cases.

“This case seems to have worked as the system was designed,� Mahaffey says.

The only difference, is, because the police union lobbyist made a stink, police ended up breaking down Payne’s aunt’s door to rearrest him. But after he had his bond hearing, as required by law, he was released upon posting cash bail.

“The whole breaking down of his aunt’s door was totally unnecessary,� Gorman says. “I reached out to the circuit attorney’s office, and we discussed a plan to have him surrender himself once he was healthy enough to do so. If anybody would have bothered to check Casenet they would have seen he had counsel. I think everyone is trying to look for someone to blame as to why Mr. Payne was released. It’s a lot of finger-pointing. In reality, had he been held in jail, the same result would have happened.�

But his aunt’s door wouldn’t have been kicked in. And he likely wouldn’t be out $2,000 — 10% of the $20,000 bond the judge set at his hearing last week. Payne is free today, pending trial, because the system mostly worked the way it is supposed to.

“The judge listened to everything (the victim) had to say and still gave him a bond,� Gorman says. “The judge made a sound decision in light of all the facts.�